By Sadiq Abdulfatah

Female contestants are taking part in the King Abdulaziz International Competition for the Memorization, Recitation and Interpretation of the Holy Qur’an for the first time since the competition began.

The winners of the 46th edition are set to be honoured in Makkah on Wednesday at separate ceremonies for male and female participants.

The competition is held under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman. Deputy Governor of Makkah Region, Prince Saud bin Mishaal bin Abdulaziz, will honour the male winners on behalf of the King at the Grand Mosque.

Princess Fahda bint Falah Al Hithlain, wife of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, will separately honour the female winners at the Hilton Convention Hotel in Makkah.

Organised by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance, the closing ceremonies will be attended by princes, ministers, ambassadors, heads of participating delegations and government officials.

The final rounds were held over several days at the Grand Mosque, with 334 male and female contestants representing 133 countries. They competed before Saudi and international judging panels, who will also be honoured.

The contestants competed in five categories, covering memorisation of the entire Qur’an with recitation, tajweed, qira’at and interpretation, as well as memorisation of 20, 15 and five consecutive juz’ with recitation and tajweed.

The number of winners has increased to 50 this year, with five male and five female winners selected in each of the five categories.

The competition offers total prize money of SR10.26 million, reflecting its international scale and its focus on promoting the memorisation, recitation and understanding of the Holy Qur’an.

Source: Saudi Gazette